Is it safe to feed my dogs/cats a raw food diet, and does anyone have any simple recipes?

It is safe and healthy. I do have cat receipes



http://www.catinfo.org/makingcatfood.htm



http://www.mousabilities.com/cats/food/h鈥?/a>Is it safe to feed my dogs/cats a raw food diet, and does anyone have any simple recipes?
Yes, it is safe and if you do it right it is very healthy. All of my dogs are on a raw diet- as well as my cat :) Here are some links to get you started:



http://rawfed.com/

http://www.rawfeddogs.net/

http://rawfed.com/myths/omnivores.html



And this is a great yahoo group. The people there can get you started and answer all of your questions.

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfe鈥?/a>Is it safe to feed my dogs/cats a raw food diet, and does anyone have any simple recipes?
Well dogs I am not sure, but if you were to give your cat raw food it would be the best thing you could ever do. Raw food is what cats naturally eat so there is no reason for you not to feed kitty raw food and keep it on a raw food diet. There are premium raw cat foods out there. The meat doesn't come full of bacteria so you know that what your kitty is eating is healthy. Take a look at this link

http://search.onlynaturalpet.com/search.鈥?/a>



Now, if you do not want to buy it online you could just prepare great recipes for them. I have never fed my cat raw foods so I woulnd't know; but you're on the right track with this idea.
Cats do best on a raw food diet, but it needs to be done safely. Raw food will can cause food poisoning, and you might not want to do raw food if you have small children who can get into it.



As for recipes, http://www.catinfo.org/makingcatfood.htm

the website above is from a vet, and has some very good information on homemade, raw cat food. It also lists some cat food brands that are good, but not as good as homemade.



Also, if you are unsure of raw food, and the additives needed to make it properly, I would suggest using a product called

InstinctsTC from Feline Future, all you do is provide the ground meat, and the rest of the ingredients are pre-mixed to make it nutritionally correct - http://www.felinefuture.com/Is it safe to feed my dogs/cats a raw food diet, and does anyone have any simple recipes?
Most super markets stock raw cat\dog mince that is safe for animals and you don't have to do any cooking.
Absolutely! Raw diets are very good for pets, much better than processed commercial foods.



Here is what my family does:



1 package of meat (chicken, beef, or turkey, ground or cubed)

1-2 eggs (whole, shells and all)

1/4 cup chicken livers/gizzards/hearts (or beef liver/heart)

1/2 cup fish (salmon, sardines, tilapia, mackerel; raw or canned)



(These next ingredients are optional, some people prefer to do just meat, while others prefer to add some dairy/vegetable/fruit ingredients as well)



2 tbsp canned pumpkin

1 tbsp peas or carrots

1 tbsp apples or blueberries

4oz (1 single serving container) plain yogurt or cottage cheese



Supplements (also optional)

1 tbsp Bone meal powder

1 tsp calcium powder

1 tbsp fish oil

1 tbsp multivitamin powder for dogs



You can either chop it into chunks and blend it like a dry stew, or put everything through the food processor and make mush. Any of the ingredients can be lightly cooked if you prefer, but raw is always preferable as far as nutrition goes. The great thing is you can change the recipe however you'd like, add things, subtract things, etc. We change it up a little each time for variety. You can use ANY type of meat you can find, as long as it's fit for human consumption- lamb, veal, mutton, duck, pheasant, rabbit, venison, etc.



For cats, I would not use any vegetable or dairy, just the meat and eggs. (Cats have less tolerance for plant and dairy foods than dogs. Dogs don't really need it, but they can tolerate it, and some people believe they do get some nutrition from it.)



You can also put down raw chicken wings/thighs (bone included) or chopped raw beef, either as meals or treats, in addition to the mixed food. My little 7lb pup can devour a whole chicken wing- meat, skin, bones and all- in a matter of minutes, he loves it! Raw bones aren't dangerous for dogs or cats, provided they are large enough not to be swallowed whole, and small enough that the animal can in fact eat them and won't break any teeth trying (large soup bones, for example, are not good).



Mixed batches of food can be separated into meal-sized portions and frozen for easy storage. Just thaw and serve.Is it safe to feed my dogs/cats a raw food diet, and does anyone have any simple recipes?
Yes I do. I have one cat who only gets canned food on the weekends now (just because...)



So long as you take proper precautions it's the best diet for cats and probably dogs as well.



I don't use recipes because I follow the whole prey model.



HOW TO GET STARTED FEEDING RAW

This blog is not intended to serve as your one-stop-shop for raw feeding. But hopefully it'll help you focus on what you need to decide and give you ideas of where to look for more info. I personally chose to feed ground whole prey so I do not supplement (except for a bit of extra taurine, fish oil and probiotics). I still serve some canned food for variety and likely will always have some on hand. I am feeding just chicken at the moment, but will be adding turkey and rabbit, and perhaps other meats when they become available.



(This ground meat does nothing for their teeth, so I also give the girls 1" or so pieces of raw chicken neck to chew on.)



So you've decided to feed raw. What's next?



It's actually pretty simple. You need to find a supplier. You need to decide on a method (ground, whole, etc.) You need to decide which meats to use. You need to know whether you need to supplement, and if you do, what supplements to use. And most importantly, you need to get your cat to eat it.



1. Finding a supplier.



A. Find a local supplier. If you're in the midwest, I recommend Taylor Pond Farms. I buy my meat from them and it couldn't be easier. They deliver every month and you can either pick it up at a dropoff point or have it delivered to your door. www.taylorpondfarms.com. They also have Yahoo groups for specific areas (http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=tay鈥?/a> You can also join http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawme鈥?/a> http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Carni鈥?/a> http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Whole鈥?/a> and look through their list of links.



B. Buy online. One site used by many is www.hare-today.com. There are many other sites; the WholeCatHealth links above will help you find them.



C. Buy meat at the grocery store. Your choices will be limited but if all you're going to feed is chicken, that's fine. Just be sure that the meat is hormone and antibiotic free - or organic.



UPDATE: I found a local distributor for Hare-Today. Not exactly sure what that means, but it may come in handy someday. Lori A. Randall, N7431 Meadowlark Road, Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin, 53085, 920.467.3717, tessera@excel.net.



2. Choosing a method.



A. Whole prey. This may be either meat, bones and organs all ground together, or it may be chunks of meat and whole bones and organs. With this method you do not need to supplement. Your cat will be eating a properly balanced meal.



B. Just meat. Again, this can be either chunks of meat or it can be ground. If you do not include bones and organs, you will need to add supplements to ensure that the meals are complete and balanced.



To learn more about these methods, check out these Yahoo groups: (http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=raw鈥?/a>



3. Supplements. If you've chosen to serve meat without organs/bones, you will need to add supplements. There are a few different ways to do this. You can purchase a ready-made supplement such as Instincts TC (http://www.felinefuture.com/) or Wysong's Call of the Wild (http://www.wysong.net/page/WOTTPWS/PROD/鈥?/a> Or you can put together your own mixture. There are tons of recipes out there. One example is here (http://www.catnutrition.org/foodmaking.p鈥?/a> One of the raw feeding groups is dedicated to one particular supplement: (http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/felin鈥?/a>



4. Meats. Most meats are appropriate but you may want to avoid pork. The most commonly used meat is chicken. My vet suggested feeding a variety, so my choices are chicken, turkey and rabbit. If it becomes available I'll also try venison. Lamb and duck were rejected. It'll be up to you and your cat what to feed.



5. Converting your cats. If you've got a kibble junky on your hands, it might be easier to first convert him or her to canned food, and then try the raw. This has been a tried and true method for many including myself. Once the cats are happily eating canned food, start slipping a bit of meat into it. Just a speck to start with. Gradually increase that amount. If the cat balks, back down a bit but keep at it.



When you're ready to try it alone, you may need bribes. Raw meat has little scent so it can be helpful to add something stinky your cat likes. Crush some kibble and sprinkle it over the top. Try fish or liver flakes, parmesan cheese, a drop of soy sauce, meaty baby food (with no added onion or garlic), whatever it takes.



Note that you do not have to start with canned. You may be able to toss down a hunk of chicken and your cat will devour it. You never know until you try.



If you join any or all of the above groups, you'll find many more tips as well.



Patience and perseverence is the key. I was surprised at how readily Poppy took to the chicken after being on canned food for a year, but Sophie who is not normally picky has been resisting. What she doesn't know is that she's getting a bit of chicken along with her Wellness. (NOTE: Mushier canned foods may do better to hide the meat than the denser varieties such as Instincts).



Last but not least - relax! If you're researching this you may become overwhelmed at the tons of info out there, and all the conflicting opinions about what is best. What you need to do is choose the method that will work for YOU and your cats. And while it is important that your cat eat a balanced diet, it is not the end of the world if you don't get it exactly right, or if you forget to add a supplement one day. As my vet said, do you eat a balanced diet every day?
.......... i don't suggest it but i do know a good cat/dog food store bought dry food it's called Iams.

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